Pages

1 June 2014

Was Marilyn actually reading "Ulysses"?

Photographer Eve Arnold is perhaps best known for the photos she took of Marilyn Monroe. From 1951 onwards, Arnold photographed Marilyn many times, and amongst those photos are the famous images of Marilyn reading James Joyce's "Ulysses", a novel that has often been labelled unreadable.

Marilyn Monroe photographed by Eve Arden, Long Island, New York, 1955

Richard Brown, a Professor of Modern Literature at the University of Leeds with a special interest in James Joyce, was intrigued by Eve Arnold's photos of Marilyn. Curious to know if Marilyn was indeed reading Joyce's novel or if she was merely posing for the photo, Brown wrote Arnold a letter, which she replied on 20 July 1993. Unfortunately, I don't have Arnold's complete letter to show you, just a fragment (and it's not an original image either). In any case, the excerpt from Arnold's letter is interesting as she was telling Brown exactly what he wanted to know:

follow by email

member classic movie blog association

disclaimer

This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only. I do not own the copyright to any of the letters reproduced on this site. Nor do I own the copyright to any of the used images. Copyright infringement is not intended. If you feel, however, that your copyright has been infringed, please contact me at saundersclarissa@gmail.comand I will promptly remove the material.